Pheasants Chapter sets annual banquet March 1; Celebrating 30 years

Pheasants Forever High Plains Chapter #278 members are holding their 23rd annual banquet this Friday, March 1 at the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds.

This year also serves as the 30th anniversary of the National Pheasants Forever organization and Brad Lines, High Plains Chapter President, said that it will be a banquet to remember.

“It was my goal when I took over as president in March to highlight the milestone year of Pheasants Forever by having the largest banquet in Sidney’s history,” said Lines. “We have more guns, prints and prizes than we have ever had in the past. We have had many great donations.”

Lines said that more premium guns will be raffled off then ever before and that they are usually the most anticipated items. This year’s raffled guns will include a 30th anniversary limited edition Browning Citori 12-guage, a 30th anniversary limited edition Browning silver 12-guage, a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 .223 and a DPMS AR15 Oracle .223, said Lines.

The president said that while usually 300 to 350 people attend the banquet, this year the chapter is hoping to see a turnout of 400. There are 252 Pheasants Forever members in Cheyenne County. Membership is $40 for adults and $5 for “ring neck members” (members under 16.) Buffet tickets cost $40 or $10 for spouses.

“It’s open to the public. Anybody can come and become a member. You can show up at the door, buy a ticket and become a member,” said Lines.

Door will open for the banquet at 5:30 p.m. and social hour will carry until approximately 7 p.m. when dinner will be served.

“We have lots of games this year,” said Lines. “We have general raffles or we have tables of prizes that we give away for anybody who buys a raffle ticket. We’ve got a plinko board, we’ve got poker and we also are doing the gun raffles.”

The president said that once dinner is complete the raffle giveaways and live auction will begin.

Local businesses contribute to the raffle items each year and Lines said that he has seen a tremendous outpour of support from the community.

“We order in prints from either the National Pheasants Forever organization or get them donated,” he said. “A lot of local businesses will sponsor an item and that’s really the take away. The local support from the Sidney businesses has been incredible. It’s downtown businesses, it’s Cabela’s, it’s businesses on the highway – I mean the whole city really gets behind it. They receive recognition at the banquet and they can have a little satisfaction knowing that they built a little habitat.”

Supporting and creating Cheyenne County pheasant habitats is what the High Plains Chapter strives for, said Lines.

“We are a local nonprofit organization that is devoted to building habitat and what I mean by habitat is grasslands, wildlife restoration areas and those types of things so we can have better habitat for pheasants as our namesake states, but also it’s sort of a ripple effect of habitat,” he said. “If we can produce all of the habitat for pheasants other organisms benefit. You’re going to see deer, antelope, grouse, quail – all those types of things can benefit from the same habitat because they all live in the same areas. We hang our hat on improving habitat because that’s the most important thing. Not just to have habitat but to have more of it.”

Lines said that the main reason behind the banquet is to fund raise for habitat efforts.

“All the money that we raise here in Sidney at our banquet stays local in Cheyenne County,” the president said. “We are generally one of the larger chapters in the state as far as the total volume of dollars that we generate.”

The chapter also holds a youth hunt every fall where approximately 15 kids get the chance to go on their first pheasant hunt with chapter members.

“That’s a very important part of what we do and it’s putting money where our mouth is when it comes to youth and getting them involved,” said Lines. “This year we had an Olympic skeet shooter, Frank Thompson, who is from Alliance, come and he showed the kids how to shoot and gave them personal shooting instructions. It was awesome.”

Children must be at least 12-years-old and completed a hunter’s safety course to participate in the hunt.

Not only will the largest sponsor and volunteer of the year be awarded at the banquet, but also an important chapter milestone will be addressed.

Lines recently received a letter indicating that the High Plains Pheasants Forever Chapter was recognized during the 2013 State Habitat Meeting of Nebraska Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters for “its outstanding habitat management efforts by taking home a conservation excellence award for over $500,000 in contributions toward local habitat and conservation projects.”

For their management efforts and raising half a million dollars in Cheyenne County at their banquets since first forming in 1990, the chapter was awarded the State Habitat Award which will be presented to the chapter at the banquet by representatives from both state Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters.

“We are very excited. This is a milestone,” said Lines.